Sermon #106 Luke
Sermons
Title: The
Great Supper
Text: Luke
14:15-24
Subject: The
Parable of the Great Supper
Date: Sunday
Evening—
Tape # X-83b
Introduction:
Our Lord Jesus is in the
house of one of the chief Pharisees. He had performed a great miracle on the sabbath day, healing a man of the dropsy. The Pharisees and
religious legalists, of course, were terribly offended by that act of mercy
(vv. 1-6).
Then, the Master gave out a parable declaring his own method of grace and salvation (vv. 7-11).
(Luke
14:7-11) "And he put forth a
parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief
rooms; saying unto them, (8) When thou art bidden of any man to a
wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou
be bidden of him; (9) And he that bade thee and him come and say to
thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
(10) But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that
when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then
shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
(11) For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted."
In verses 12-14, he very
pointedly applied the parable, speaking directly to the Pharisee who had
invited him to dinner, exposing that man’s hypocrisy.
(Luke
14:12-14) "Then said he also to him
that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor
thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they
also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. (13) But when thou
makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: (14) And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee:
for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
But there was one man in the
crowd who heard and understood what the Savior was saying. Look at verse 15.
(Luke
14:15) "And when one of them that
sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed
is he that shall eat bread in the
It is in response to this
man’s assertion that our Lord spoke the parable recorded in verses 16-24[1].
(Luke
14:16-24) "Then said he unto him, A
certain man made a great supper, and bade many: (17) And sent his
servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things
are now ready. (18) And they all with one consent
began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of
ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. (19) And
another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I
go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. (20) And another said, I
have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. (21) So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then
the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into
the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the
maimed, and the halt, and the blind. (22) And the servant said, Lord, it
is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. (23) And the lord
said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to
come in, that my house may be filled. (24) For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my
supper."
This is a parable full of instruction. May God the Holy Spirit now teach us its meaning and apply it to our hearts.
A Great Supper
Ver. 16. “Then said he unto him”—to the man who had
declared, “Blessed
is he that shall eat bread in the
“A certain man made a great supper”—This is not the Lord’s supper, which had not yet been established. And this
is not the marriage supper of the Lamb, which will take place at the end of
time. This great supper is the gospel feast of the boundless grace of God.
It is called a "supper"; because made in the end of the world,
in the last days. It is called a "great" one, because He who made the
supper is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. It is great supper, a feast of
fat things, of wine upon lees well refined.
·
A Supper Provided by The Great God
·
A Supper Table Spread at Great
Cost—The Blood
·
A Supper with Great Provisions
·
A Supper for Great Sinners with Great
Need
·
A Supper for a Great Multitude
·
A Supper to Last a Great Time—The End
of Time
“And bade many”—Certainly, the
reference here is to the Jews, the many physical descendants of Abraham to whom
alone God sent the gospel throughout the Old Testament.
·
The Prophets
·
The Law
·
John the Baptist
·
The Lord Jesus
·
The Apostles
But we dare not limit the parable’s message to the Jews. This word of God
is to be applied to all who are privileged to hear the gospel of the grace of
God. The King of Heaven has made a great supper and bids you and me come to the
supper.
The Servant
Ver. 17. “And sent his servant at supper
time”—The servant here may refer to John the Baptist, or to the
Lord Jesus, to the Apostles of Christ, or to the Spirit of God[2].
Certainly, the servant is representative of every servant of God who is sent
forth to preach the gospel of the grace of God to perishing sinners.
“To say to them that were bidden, come”—Gospel
preachers are God’s servants, sent forth into the world to call sinners to the
table of grace, to call sinners to Christ.
Now, watch this. We proclaim, all God’s servants proclaim a feast of
God’s providing.—“for all things are now ready.”
·
Righteousness Ready to Wear
·
Pardon Ready to Give
·
Redemption to Bestow
·
Salvation Ready to Give
·
Sonship Ready to Bestow
·
No Gifts Accpted!
Excuses For Unbelief
Ver. 18. “And they all with one consent
began to make excuse”—Unbelievable as it may appear,
all who are called to Christ make excuses not to come. All who are called make
the same excuses. All who are called of God by the gospel to life and salvation
in Christ, all who are called to believe on the Son of God, all who are bidden
to follow Christ, have (in their own minds) completely reasonable excuses for
disobedience. Rather than praying to God for mercy, they say, “I pray
thee have me excused!”
“The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, or a field,
and I must needs go and see it. I pray thee have me excused.”
Ver. 19. “And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove
them: I pray thee have me excused.”
Ver. 20. “And another
said, I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.”
“The
first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and
see it.” What fool would buy a piece of ground, and then go see it?
He bought a piece of ground from a man without seeing it. What confidence he
must have had in that man.—But he has no confidence in
God!
The
second was worse. “And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen,
and I go to prove them.” He bought five yoke of oxen without
knowing whether they could bear a yoke or pull a cart, taking a man’s word for
it. You will do that. But you will not believe God!
The
excuse which the third makes, is worst of all. “I
have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” Had he said, I
will not come, would at least have told the truth. It is not your impotence
that keeps you from Christ, but your will, your want of a will to trust him.
· He who has married a wife is
doubly responsible to come to the feast. He is responsible for himself and his
wife.
· If his wife will not come,
he is a fool to let her keep him away.—They that have
wives must be as though they had none. We must not allow carnal unions,
sentiments, and affections to keep us from following Christ.—Adam paid a very
high price for hearkening to the voice of his wife. Our Lord requires that we
forsake husbands and wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, as well as
houses and lands, if we would be his disciples.
The Servant’s Report
Ver. 21. “So that servant came and showed his Lord these things”—Gospel
preachers watch over the souls of men as those who must give account (Heb.
13:7, 17).
“Then the master of the house being angry”—You may
think it is a light thing to trample the blood of Christ under your feet, but
that will not always be the case. God almighty will make you see how offensive
your unbelief is to him (Pro.
“And said to his servants, go out quickly into the streets and
lanes of the city; and bring in hither the poor”—
·
Who have no bread for their souls.
·
No righteous garments, but only
filthy rags.
·
No money to buy.
·
No means to pay their debt.
·
Poor in spirit.
“And the maimed”—Impotent, helpless sinners, without
strength, without hope, without life, without help.
“And the halt”—Lost people. People
halting because they do not know where to go for grace and mercy and help, and
do not know the way. Not only lost and ignorant, but cripple, being
maimed by a terrible fall.
“And the blind”—Yes, the Lord God bids us go out and
call poor, maimed, halt, blind sinners to the feast of grace, the blind who
cannot see, the halt who cannot come, and the poor who have nothing to bring!
Plenty of Room
Ver. 22. “And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded; and
yet there is room.”
There is plenty of room in the house of grace and penty of bread for
hungry sinners.
Compel Them
Ver. 23. “And the Lord said unto the
servant go out into the highways and hedges: and
compel them to come in”— Yes, we are to compel, persuade, and force
sinners by the persuasive preaching of the gospel to come to Christ (2 Cor.
This shows us “the nature of the Gospel ministry, which is to persuade
Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem; and the power that attends it by the
divine Spirit; the case and condition of souls, who are generally bashful and
backward, judging themselves unworthy; as also the earnest desire, and great
liberality of Christ, the master of the feast.” (John Gill)
“That my house may be filled”—And filled it shall
be! God’s house shall be filled with chosen, redeemed sinners, as a sheepfold
filled with a flock of sheep. And each one shall be filled with grace and
glory. “And so all
Ver. 24. “For I say unto you, that none of those
men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.”
1. There is an infinite, boundless provision of grace in Christ for all who want it. Christ is the Bread on the table. All who are hungry are welcome to eat. Christ is the Water of Life. All who are thirsty are welcome to drink.
(Isa
55:1) "Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and
eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."
(Mat
11:28-30) "Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light."
(John
6:37) "All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
out."
(John
7:37) "In the last day, that great day
of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If
any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink."
2. If you perish in your sins, if you go to hell, if you will not come to the bounteous feast of grace, you will have no one to blame but yourself.—Then your lands and oxen and relations will be fuel for the fires of your everlasting torment.
3.
How can I compel you to come to Christ (2 Cor.
· Eternity!
· Immortality!
· Judgment!
· The Love Of Christ!
· A New Creation!
· A Finished Redemption!
· The Urgency of Obedience!
[1] Though there are clearly
points of similarity between this and the parable of the wedding feast in
Matthew 22, these are two distinct parables, spoken on two separate occasions.
[2]
A.
W. Pink wrote, “In Luke 14:16 we read, "A certain man made a
great supper, and bade many." By comparing carefully what follows here
with Matt. 22:2-10 several important distinctions
will be observed. We take it that these passages are two independent accounts
of the same parable, differing in detail according to the distinctive purpose
and design of the Holy Spirit in each Gospel. Matthew's account - in harmony
with the Spirit's presentation there of Christ as the Son of David, the King of
the Jews - says, "A certain king made a marriage for his son."
Luke's account - where the Spirit presents Christ as the Son of Man - says,
"A certain man made a great supper and bade many." Matt. 22:3 says, "And sent forth His servants;"
Luke 14:17 says, "And sent His servant."
Now what we wish particularly to call attention to is, that all through
Matthew's account it is "servants," whereas in Luke it is always
"servant." The class of readers for whom we
are writing are those that believe unreservedly, in the verbal
inspiration of the Scriptures, and such will readily acknowledge that there
must be some reason for this change from the plural number in Matthew to the
singular one in Luke. We believe the reason is a weighty one and that attention
to this variation reveals an important truth. We believe that the servants in
Matthew, speaking generally, are all who go forth preaching the Gospel,
but that the "Servant" in Luke 14 is the Holy Spirit Himself. This is not
incongruous, or derogatory to the Holy Spirit, for God the Son, in the days of
His earthly ministry, was the Servant of Jehovah (Isa. 42:1). It will be observed that in Matt. 22 the "servants" are sent forth
to do three things: first, to "call" to the wedding (v. 3);
second, to "tell those which are bidden ... all things are ready;
come unto the marriage (v. 4); third, to "bid to the marriage"
(v. 9); and these three are the things which those who minister the Gospel today
are now doing. In Luke 14 the Servant is also sent forth to do
three things: first, He is "to say to them that were bidden, Come:
for all things are now ready" (v. 17); second, He is to "bring in
the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind" (v. 21); third, He
is to "compel them to come in" (v. 25), and the last two of
these the Holy Spirit alone can do!
In
the above scripture we see that "the Servant," the Holy
Spirit, compels certain ones to come into the "supper" and
herein is seen His sovereignty, His omnipotency, His divine sufficiency. The
clear implication from this word "compel"
is, that those whom the Holy Spirit does "bring in" are not
willing of themselves to come.”